Interesting Facts

According to a survey conducted by the AA, 63% of British drivers have used a map in the past six months. (About a third (35%) of drivers in the UK said they use both sat navs, and an atlas as a back-up to plan a route - with just one in six (17%) relying solely on their sat nav. Unsurprisingly, younger drivers, aged 18 to 24, prefer to use just a sat nav. Of course, a sat nav is still a map, really.)

The largest atlas in the world is the 350-year-old Klencke atlas at the British Library. (It measures 5ft 10in (1.78m)high and 3ft 5in (1.05m) wide and 4in (11cm) thick. It takes six people to lift it. It was presented to Charles II on his restoration and is now 350 years old. It will be displayed for the first time as one of the stars of the British Library's big summer exhibition of maps.)